An Eulogy for a dog that taught me so much

Also Season II Final Episode next Sunday

I put together a website for you to share with your friends who want to chat about the six week health program, listen to previous episodes, subscribe to this newsletter or attend our any upcoming Season 3 events. All in one place!

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Now that shameless self promotion is out of the way, let’s get down to business.

We are gearing up for The Gumpcast Season II Finale with the return of Paul Kist for a double feature with improv teacher and our dearest friend Staci B. Expect pristine high vibes the likes of which you never have and never will ever hear again.

👀 Don’t miss this one coming to your inbox next Sunday. Get on spotify, apple podcasts, or wherever you kids get your podcasts these days. (links in the website above)👀

In the meantime, I present you today with a pause to commemorate the dog that saved countless lives including mine.

My dear Saeeda, the free-est of spirits that roamed the beaches of Dahab, Egypt has passed away last week. She deserves a Sunday feature on so many levels.

First a poem, and then the actual Eulogy and why it is important to share this with you here.

Saeeda Gets Promoted

Today my baby girl passed away at three
She was 2 weeks when she appeared
On a beach and would not leave me
I want to save you she kept saying until
I could not do anything but surrender to her.
She was the howl in my darkest night
The crazy smile in my mundane life
The external beauty that reminded me of my own
The voracious appetite for life when I couldn’t stomach a pickle
A true free and wandering spirit
Sent to us on a mission
To liberate the humans on her path
Who have lost their way
On this winding road of life issues
That have nothing to do with
The pure joys that she taught.
Saeeda is gone now with
her mission accomplished
And her legacy tattooed
On our hearts and in our spirit.
Thank you oh wandering light
For your gifts for your lessons
And may you keep shining
Like the crazy Diamond that you are

I just got news that my baby girl who I left behind in Sinai had passed away this morning.

This dog taught me so much about life, happiness and dignity and I feel like honoring her here today and sharing her lessons.

Her name -Saeeda- means happy in Arabic, and a stranger on the beach gave her that name the day we found her.

She had a big unmistakable smile. She found me at a point in my life where I was swirling in the shame of a professional failure because:

- My first iteration of a health program had not produced the outcomes I desired.
- The investors I gained traction with were no longer interested.
- My target market was all wrong, and my plan collapsed.
- Worst of all - my cofounder and advisor blamed me for all of it and things spiraled into conflict really quickly.
- I was totally burned out.

That was when Saeeda came into my life.

A time when all I could think of was work and the shame of what could have been.

She pulled me out of my head and taught me how to play, how to care, and how to understand the sanctity of the current moment.

She was diagnosed with Parvo virus, a disease that stops puppies from drinking or eating with a 90% chance of living.

We turned the guest bedroom into a nursing home for her, hung a cannula with hydration IV fluids that we changed every day. Took her to the vet and back daily.

Within a couple of weeks, my world had changed completely. That thing that was causing me sleepless nights and bouts of stress was no longer relevant. All that was relevant was to make Saeeda, happy and alive.

She grew up to continue teaching me lessons about selflessness, joy, the ideal of freedom. She went on to give life to 5 puppies and - thanks to my partner at the time - ended up finding a wonderful home with a friend where she lived until today.

She brought happiness to me, my ex-wife, our close friend who took her, and at least five new owners of her puppies, not to mention everyone she encountered with her big smile of undeniable wisdom.

May this be a reminder to you when you are bogged down with work and the problems of business, that a big smile and a world of happiness may just be around the corner waiting for you to discover her.

May you rest in peace, baby girl. Thank you for the lessons. Your job here was very well done.

I guess she just got promoted!